Book cover turning-in machine



Aug. 0, 1968 J. CRAWFORD 3,398,038

BOOK COVER TURNING-IN MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1965 FIG. 1 35 7 r 23 34 I I I9 n I3 I5 I? PIC-3.3 2 3 FIG. 4 25 2! 22 9 24 2? 3 46 29 46 INVENTOR 47 47 4 IO 3 32 3332 30 JAY CRAWFORD United States Patent Ofice 3,398,038 Patented Aug. 20, 1968 3,398,038 BOOK COVER TURNING-IN MACHINE Jay Crawford, 2249 14th St., Akron, Ohio 44314 Filed Oct. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 504,426 4 Claims. (Cl. 156-492) This invention relates to the covering of hard back books and particularly to a machine for folding a cloth cover about one or more pieces of binders board in the forming of a hard back cover.

Heretofore, some efforts have been made to provide a machine for folding a cloth cover about binders board for covering a book; however, these prior efforts have not been sufiiciently adjustable to economically accommodate covers of various thicknesses, have been difficult and time-consuming to operate and maintain, have been complicated and hence expensive to produce, and for other reasons have not proved satisfactory.

It is an object of the invention to provide a relatively simple, inexpensive turning-in machine which can be easily and quickly adjusted and operated and which will be energized by the insertion of a book cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide a turning-in machine which can be adjusted to economically accommodate book covers of various thicknesses and which will operate automatically to turn in the cloth cover and apply a predetermined selected pressure to such cover and then return to a retracted position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrating the machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2, an enlarged front elevation thereof;

FIG. 3, a section on the line 33 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4, a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 illustrating the folder bar in closed position.

With reference to the drawings, a base is provided on which a pair of posts 11 and 12 are mounted. A frame or crosshead 13 connects the posts 11 and 12 and on such crosshead is mounted a pneumatic or other fluid cylinder 14 having a piston rod 15 extending downwardly through the crosshead. The piston rod 15 has external threads 16 for the reception of an adjusting nut 17 which bears against the cross head 13 to adjust the stroke of the piston rod. If desired, the adjusting nut 17 may have a set screw 18 to lock it in adjusted position.

A frame 19 is rotatably mounted on the end of the piston rod 15 in any desired manner as by a nut or other fastener 20. A pair of guides 21 are located one adjacent each end of the frame 19 and such guides extend from the base 10 through openings 22 in the frame to the crosshead 13 to prevent rotational movement of the frame. A folder bar 23 is fixed to the frame 19 by bolts 24 and nuts 25 with such bolts being received within grooves 26 in the frame to facilitate application and removal of the folder bar. The folder bar 23 can be easily removed from the frame 19 for cleaning or replacement by loosening the nuts 25 and sliding the bar outwardly and can be replaced merely by slipping the bolts 24 into the grooves 26 and tightening the nuts 25.

The folder bar includes an upper flange 27 having openings for the reception of bolts 24. A downwardly and outwardly extending intermediate web portion 29 is connected to the upper flange 27 and a lower flange 30 extends inwardly generally parallel to the base 10 to a position underlying the upper flange 27. An end member 31 is fixed to each end of the folder bar to impart additional strength and rigidity to the lower flange 30. If desired the end members 31 each may have a cut-out portion 32 for the reception of a stop bar 33.

An adjustable pressure relief valve 34 is mounted on the post 11 and such relief valve is under the influence of the cylinder 14 so that when the folder bar has lowered and a predetermined pressure has been reached the adjustable pressure relief valve 34 will reverse the flow of fluid and cause the frame 19 and folder bar 23 to be retracted. In order to introduce fluid under pressure into the cylinder 14, a high pressure line 35 is connected to a source of fluid under pressure (not shown) and directs such fluid to an air separator 36 of conventional construction from which the air is discharged through a line 37 to an adjustable pressure valve 38 having an indicator 39. From the pressure valve 38 the fluid under pressure is directed through a line 40 to the cylinder 14 through an electrically operated valve 41.

In order to control the operation of the cylinder 14 electrically, an on-off switch 42 (FIG. 2) is mounted on the post 12 at one end of the crosshead 13 to control the flow of electricity to the machine. A microswitch 43 is mounted within a recess 44 in the base 10 and such microswitch is adapted to be energized by a trigger 45 when such trigger is engaged by a piece of binders board 46 covered by a cloth 47 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

In the operation of the device a cloth 47 is cut to any desired size and coated on one side with an adhesive. One or more pieces of binders board of an appropriate size to fit a particular book is cut and placed on the adhesive of the cloth with the cloth extending outwardly on at least three sides thereof. In order to protect the edges of the book cover it is desirable to turn the cloth over the edges of the binders board and in order to do this the binders board and cloth are raised and moved toward the turning-in machine until the cloth engages the intermediate web portion 29 of the folder bar 23. The movement of the binders board is continued until the cloth is squeezed between the binders board and the intermediate portion 29. Thereafter the board is moved downwardly until it is disposed below the folder bar and then is moved inwardly against the stop bar 33.

In passing below the lower flange 30 of the folder bar, the cover will engage the trigger 45 and activate the microswitch 43 which in turn will open the valve 41 and permit air under pressure to enter the cylinder 14 and lower the frame 19 and the folder bar 23 until the lower flange 30 presses the cloth into intimate engagement with the binders board under a predetermined pressure. As soon as the predetermined pressure is reached the pressure relief valve 34 will open and permit the cylinder 14 to retract the frame 19. In the folding-over process each of the corners is first folded one at a time and thereafter each side is folded over until the cloth is firmly attached to the binders board.

The predetermined pressure can be adjusted to any pressure between 0 and p.s.i. by setting the adjustable pressure valve 38 until the indicator 39 indicates the desired pressure, as an example, 60 p.s.i. Set the pressure relief valve 34 at any reading over 60 p.s.i. and insert a piece of binders board under the folder bar to activate the microswitch 43. This will cause the folder bar to come down and remain in the down position. Then turn the pressure relief valve 34 toward 60 p.s.i. until the folder bar returns to the up position. Thereafter, the timing of the return stroke can be shortened by turning the valve 34 slightly until the desired speed is obtained.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A turning-in machine for folding a cloth cover over one or more pieces of binders board in the forming of a hard back book cover comprising a base, a crosshead supported by said base, fluid cylinder means carried by said crosshead, said fluid cylinder means having an adjustable piston rod, a frame mounted on said piston rod, a folder bar removably carried by said frame, electrically operated valve means for introducing fluid under pressure into said cylinder means, an adjustable pressure valve controlling the flow of fluid under pressure from a suitable source to said electrically operated valve means to operate said cylinder at a predetermined pressure, an adjustable pressure relief valve for relieving the pressure when said predetermined pressure has been reached, and trigger means for operating said electrically operated valve, whereby when a hard back cover is inserted within said machine said folder bar will be extended to apply a predetermined pressure to the cover and thereafter will return to its initial position.

2. The structure of claim 1 including an adjusting nut on said piston rod to regulate the stroke of said cylinder 4. The structure 0f claim 1 including stop means located adjacent to said folder bar to control the position of the cover within said machine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,898,123 2/1933 Glass 156480 1,977,908 10/1934 Glass 156-480 2,536,210 1/1951 Ort et a1 156-482 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

H. F. EPSTEIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A TURNING-IN MACHINE FOR FOLDING A CLOTH COVER OVER ONE OR MORE PIECES OF BINDER''S BOARD IN THE FORMING OF HARD BACK BOOK COVER COMPRISNG A BASE, A CROSSHEAD SUPPORTED BY SAID BASE, FLUID CYLINDERMEANS CARRRIED BY SAID CROSSHEAD, SAID FLUID CYLINDER MEANS HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE PISTON ROD, A FRAM EMOUNTED ON SAID PISTON ROD, A FOLDER BAR REMOVABLE CARRIED BY SAID FRAME, ELECTRICALLY OPERATED VALVE MEANS FOR INTRODUCING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE INTO SAID CYLINDER MEANS, AN ADJUSTABLE PRESSURE VALVE CONTROLLING TTHE FLOW OF FLUID UNDER PRESSURE FROM A SUITABLE SOURCE TO SAID ELECTRICALLY OPERATED VALVE MEANS TO OPERATE SAID CYLINDER AT A PREDETERMINED PRESSURE, AN ADJUTABLE PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE FOR RELIEVING THE PRESSURE WHEN SAID PREDETERMINED PRESSURE HAS BEEN REACHED, AND TRIGGER MEANS FOR OPERATNG SAID ELECTRICALY OPERATED VALVE, WHEREBY WHEN A HARD BACK COVER IS INSERTED WITHIN SAID MACHINE SAID FOLDER BAR WILL BE EXTENDED TO APPLY A PREDETERMINED PRESSURE TO THE COVER AND THEREAFTER WILL RETURN TO TIS INITIAL POSITON. 